Self-Acting Buckets.

65

Chap. 9.

centre of gravity. As soon as both vessels are emptied, B again pre-ponderates, and the Operation is repeated without any attendance, asiong as there is water in E and the apparatus continues in Order.

In Moxon’s machine, the vessels were filled by two separate tubes ofunequal bore; the orifices being covered by valves, to prevent the es-cape of water while the buckets were in motion; these valves wereopened and closed by means of cords attached to the buckets. The effluxthrough F in the figure, may easily be stopped as soon as A begins to de-scend, by the action of either bücket on the end of a lever attached to avalve, or by other obvious contrivances. The water discharged from A,runs to waste through some channel provided for the purpose. Thesemachines are of limited application, since they require a fall for the de-scent of A, equaltothe elevation to which the liquid is raised in B. Theymay however be modified to suit locations where a less descent only canbe obtained. Thus, by connecting the rope of B to the periphery of alarge wheel, while that of A is United to a smaller one on the same axis,water may be raised higher than the larger buchet falls, but the quantityraised will of course be proportionally diminished.

In Serviere’s Collection, a G-aining and Losing Bücket Machine is de-scribed. Another one was invented in 1725, by George G-erves an En-glish carpenter, who probably was not aware that he had been anticipatedby Continental mechanics upwards of a Century before. He erected onein Buckinghamshire, which was much approved of by Sir Isaac Newton ,Beighton, Desaguliers, Switzer, and others. Mr. Beighton who drew upa description of it, observes that it was so free from friction, that “it islikely to continue an age without repair;” and Dr. Desaguliers on insert-ing an account of it in his Experimental Philosophy, vol. ii, 461, says,“ this engine has not been out of Order since it was first set up, about fif-teen years ago.” Notwithstanding these favorable testimonials, it hasfallen into disuse. It was much too complex and cumbersome, and of toolimited application ever to become populär.

The principle of self-action in all these machines is no modern discovery,for it was described by Heron of Alexandria , who applied it to the ope-mng and closing the doors of a temple, and to other purposes. The mo-tive bücket when filled, descended and communicated by a secret cordthe movement required, and when its contents were discharged (by a si-phon similar to the one figured in the Clepsydra of Ctesibius , in our fifthbook,) it was again raised by a weight at the other end of the cord, like thebücket, in the last figure. See De Natur* Simia seu technica macro-cosmi historia, by Robert Fludd, (the English Rosicrucian .) Oppenheim,1618, pp. 478 and 489, where several similar contrivances are figured—hence the device is much older than has been supposed. Perhaps thebest modification of the ‘ Gaming and Losing Bücket’, is Francini’s, a de-scription of which may be seen in our account of the Endless Chain ofPots.

A lever machine described by Dr. Desaguliers mayherebe noticed. “ A A,(No. 17,) are two spouts running from a gutter or spring of water, into thetwo buckets D and E. D containing about thirty gallons and being calledthe losing hucket, and E the gaining bücket, containing less than a quarterpart of D, as for example six gallons. D E, is a lever or beam movableabout the axis or centre C, which is supported by the pieces F F, be-tween which the bücket D can descend when the contrary bücket E israised up, D C , is to C E, as one is to four. G- L is an upright piece,through the top of which the lever K I moves about the centre L,sometimes resting on the prop H, and sometimes raised from it by the

9